Key Points
Mid-America Apartment Communities is the premier apartment operator in the Sun Belt.

Switch is preparing to become one of the newest data center REITs.
Plymouth Industrial REIT gives investors exposure to growing industrial demand.

Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are often sought after for their reliable, attractive dividend returns, but REITs can also make great growth stocks.

Right now, most real estate industries are booming across the country, which has helped REITs grow to massive heights. Over the past year, REITs achieved a near 40% return year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 by over 10%.

There is some concern about the real estate market cooling in 2022, but regardless of where it goes, Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA), Switch (NYSE:SWCH), and Plymouth Industrial REIT (NYSE:PLYM) are all in a solid position for serious growth. Here’s a closer look at each company and why these REIT stocks are worthwhile buys for long-term investors. Click to read more at www.fool.com.

In reflecting on my 2021 retail musings, I discovered a full two-thirds of the nearly three-dozen articles touched on five main topics – Sustainability and Conscious Consumerism, Big Box Specialty Stores, Big Discounters’ Dominance, Direct-to-Consumer Brands (DTC), and Mall Fall and Overhaul. A brief recap may provide a guide for what will be on our radar in 2022.

Sustainability and Conscious Consumerism

It is undeniable that the stigma once associated with buying secondhand has more than evaporated, it is becoming a net positive driven by millennials and Gen Z consumers. Even the much-discussed supply chain woes played to the reseller’s advantage this past year with its inherent “closed-loop” sourcing.

In October I suggested that companies like Poshmark and ThredUp were going to reap big holiday benefits. I noted that GlobalData predicted that retail resale would grow eleven times faster than the broader fashion retail sector through 2025, to an estimated value of $77 billion. It is expected to eclipse fast fashion by 2028. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

AUSTIN – Texas added 75,100 nonfarm jobs in November, reaching nearly 13 million jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

With the jobs gained last month, the Texas economy has recovered all jobs lost because of the pandemic and is now 28,200 jobs above the February 2020 employment level of nearly 13 million.

It took Texas 19 months to recover lost jobs. The state’s labor force participation rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The state’s job growth was 0.6 percent last month, exceeding the Texas Real Estate Research Center’s forecasted growth rate of 0.4 percent.

The state’s labor market is recovering faster than the nation’s job market, which grew 0.1 percent over the month.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 5.2 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from October and higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.

Amarillo had the lowest nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the state at 3.1 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission had the highest at 7.7 percent.

All employment sectors had seasonally adjusted job gains since November 2020. Mining and logging saw the largest annual growth in October at 17.4 percent, followed by professional and business services (11.3 percent) and leisure and hospitality (11.1 percent). Click to read more at www.recenter.tamu.edu.com.

The pandemic hasn’t exactly been kind to retailers as residents across the nation were asked to stay home for months on end last spring and summer. However, despite the ongoing nature of the COVID pandemic, there are not only signs of life for Texas retail, but an indicator that the health of the retail market is strong. Recent reports from NAI Partners specifically look at the markets in Austin, San Antonio and Houston, and offer compelling evidence of a return to normalcy.

Perhaps the biggest story in Texas retail at the moment is the success of the San Antonio market. According to the NAI Partners report, San Antonio retail rents have actually reached a new all-time high. Inflation concerns aside, the average triple net lease asking rent has risen by nearly a dollar from $16.08 in October 2020 to $17.06 this October. Vacancy and availability is also down in San Antonio. The current vacancy is just 5.2% while the availability rate is just under 7%.

The report also notes that this October was the first time in three years that the amount of net absorption was higher than the volume of deliveries between January and October, suggesting that demand is beginning to outpace supply. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

What was old is new again in Texas retail as a slowdown in new construction prompted retail developers to get creative to meet demand.

“That has sparked the market for renovations,” says Weitzman President &
CEO Marshall Mills. “Our asset management team is currently directing or has recently completed 14 renovations in D-FW. These projects range in size from 50,000 square feet to more than 350,000 square feet, but they will not increase the D-FW retail inventory by a single square foot.”

An example is Fielder Plaza, a community center that opened around four
decades ago as one of Arlington’s first grocery-anchored shopping centers.
“Our renovation helped boost occupancy and attract new shoppers who had largely bypassed the aging center,” Mills says.

Taking a cue from Weitzman, Tom Thumb then renovated and modernized the interior of its anchor store, expanding existing departments and adding new ones.

“The renewed Fielder Plaza has attracted strong new tenancy such as Al’s
Hamburgers, the iconic 60-year-old burger joint with a strong following; the largest Texas location of Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa; and a new 7,000-square-foot Workout Anytime fitness facility,” boasts Mills. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.